How do you pronounce “little”?

A reader has asked how to pronounce two-syllable words in the CVCCVC pattern where the middle two consonants are the same letter sound, such as in “little,” “muffin,” and “bigger.”

In the US, these words are usually pronounced as if the first of the two middle consonants is silent, or if not silent, barely spoken.  In “muffin,” for example, the pronunciation is mu- fin with both vowels sounding short.  The accent is usually on the first syllable, but not always.  “Supplant” is accented on the second syllable.

The British pronunciation, however, places the consonant sound strongly with the first syllable and weakly with the second.

Other examples of words like this include “babble,” “clammy,” “lesson,” “pollen,” “funnel,” “puppet” and “kitten.”  Longer words, such as recommend, follow the same pronunciation patter, but the accented syllable often changes.

Two of my dictionaries* disagree with me while one** agrees.

Pronunciation of words varies across the US, with people in the North and East sounding a bit more British than people in the South, Midwest or West.  For sure, double consonants are slurred when pronounced everywhere in the US, so it can be hard to distinguish which syllable the consonant sound goes with.  Even so, the way I say these words and the way I hear these words pronounced is with the consonant sound beginning the second syllable.

Pronunciation is different from syllabication.  The rule for syllabication is to divide between the twin letters no matter how you pronounce them.

For audio pronunciations of words, go to these links:  the Cambridge Dictionary, http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/pronunciation/english/little;  and the Macmillan Dictionary: http://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/pronunciation/american/little_1

*The American Heritage Dictionary; World Book Dictionary

** Merriam Webster Dictionary